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Celtic traditions and customs became the prevailing cultural influence in the world as the Celts continued to migrate until they had expanded throughout continental Europe, up into Scandinavia, down into Spain, across to Britain and Ireland, and over the Asian sub-continent to the borders of China. Over the ages there have been always been storytelling legends about Lost Continents like Atlantis and Lemuria; as well as, mythic tales about goddesses, gods, heroes, heroines, fairies, nature spirits. There are Myths Folklore Storytelling articles about myths, legends, epics, sagas, eddas, tales, texts, and literature from the ancient Atlantean, Celtic, Chinese, Egyptian, Lemurian, Hindu, Japanese, Maya, Peruvian and Scandinavian cultures. Sagas were lengthy prose narratives about heroes, heroines, goddesses and gods. Most commonly sagas are legendary tales about the Norse, Icelandic, Germanic goddesses and gods. Sagas were epic in scope and often chronicles heroic adventures. The Eddas were a collection of Norse mythological poems. Poems about Norse heroes, goddesses, and gods going back to the Heathen Period, were written down from the archaic oral tradition. They were the main Holy Text of the Elder Troth. In the Norse storytelling traditions, for example, Mjollnir, Thor's Hammer was a symbol of fertility, protection, and creativity. Thor used his magical hammer "Mjollnir" to ward and protect the human realm or Middle Earth. Similar to the Tantric vajra in meaning, Thor's Hammer signified enlightenment, holiness, and lightening and was used to hallow both people and things. It was also a weapon against cosmic chaos and a creative tool similar to a blacksmith's hammer.
Storytelling plays an
important and an integral role in everyday Aboriginal Australia life. Although the overall themes are the same, Dreaming stories vary
throughout Aboriginal Australia. For instance, the story of how birds got their colors in Western Australia is different from the story
of how birds got their colors in New South Wales. Traditionally these stories
have been passed down by the Elders through song and dance usually around
campfires. Complex community and kinship patterns determine the ownership of
Dreaming Stories; and, ancient initiatic rite and law protects the conveyance of
the ceremonial knowledge and wisdom.
Although there are many concepts about the Earth and its dance in Creation among the various Native American tribes, one common theme is that the universe is comprised of multiple planes linked to a World Tree with the natural world being in the middle sphere. This tree's roots go far underground and reach upwards into the sky. Most creation myths were part of the oral tradition and feature a Master Spirit who assumes many diverse forms, including both the masculine and feminine. Greek writing, myth, and storytelling were centered around an animistic Natural World inhabited by muses, nymphs, graces, sirens, and a naturalistic panorama of gods and goddesses that included a warrior goddess named Athena who had a magical breastplate. Originally part of their oral tradition, the Greek mythic stories were sung by bardic storytellers like Homer who wrote the he "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" epic poems. Eventually, they were recorded for posterity in the form of epic poems. "Theogony", written by Hesiod around 725 BCE, recounted derivative creation myths about the origins the universe and the Greek gods and goddesses. As Greek culture evolved it provided fertile ground for the growth of a body of literature which included many new stories and plays which are still performed today. There are many myths and legends surrounding the founding of Rome which Plutarch examined thoroughly in his 75 ACE writing, "Romulus". The Roman poet Virgil wanted to restore the tranquility of pastoral farm life to the ruined fields of the rural Romans so he imagined a new golden age in his "Eclogues". For most of his life he worked on the national epic, the "Aeneid", which honored Rome and prophesized the expansion of the Roman Empire. The hero Aeneas epitomized the Roman virtues which Virgil believed were the most pivotal in Roman history - family devotion, religious reverence, and state loyalty.
Ovid grew up in the
countryside during the Pax Romana. His early writings included such witty love
poems as "Amores", "Ars Amatoria", "Heroides", and "Remedia Amoris". Exiled for
offending the emperor's strict moral sensibilities, Ovid continued to write. His
epic poem "Metamorphoses" is one of the most significant pieces of both European
and Roman literature. Using both history and myth, Ovid detailed the development
of Rome from its nascency to the times of Tiberius...
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